storm surge. hermine's aftermath reeks havoc in texas and oklahoma. burning backlash. the state department tells u.s. embassies to prepare for the worst. two days before a florida preacher plans to burn islam's holy book. and spears sued. a former bodyguard hits the pop princess with a lawsuit and some disturbing allegations. this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, september 9, 2010. and good morning, everyone. good to see you. i'm terrell brown in for betty nguyen. remnants of tropical storm of hermine are still carrying heavy rains and the threat of flooding

today. strong thunderstorms poured heavy rain into oklahoma and there are reports of at least two tornado sightings in texas. an eyewitness grabbed this shot of a tornado on his iphone. several twisters touched down causing property damage. at least one person was injured. a truck's whose rig was slammed into a paint warehouse. the lone star state got at much as 10 inches in the lone star state. don teague has more. >> reporter: a dramatic scene in arlington, texas, where torrential rain turned a creek into a raging river, surrounding a nearby apartment complex and trapping at least 90 people. >> literally, within 30 minutes, it was so high that we couldn't even walk back and forth from the apartments. >> reporter: the water came up so fast, over such a wide area, rescuers and in communities across texas were overwhelmed. >> it just came up a lot quicker than we expected. and quicker than we were able to take care of it because we were having rescue calls all over the city.

>> reporter: what's left of tropical storm hermine has spent two days marching across the state, flooding communities from san antonio and austin north to ft. worth and dallas. in some areas more than a foot of rain has fallen. floodwaters overwhelming roads, bridges and neighborhoods. in nolanville, high water swept away several mobile homes. their owners escaped, but now have nothing. >> we're 75 -- or 76 and 77 years old. we have to start all over now. >> reporter: don teague, cbs news, arlington, texas. meanwhile in colorado, the problem is too little rain. fire conditions are expected to get worse by tomorrow along the populated front range of the rockies. the fire about 12 miles outside boulder has scorched 6,000 acres, 140 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed, four people are still missing, about 3,000 have been evacuated. kendis gibson has more. >> we got a visual on the house. >> reporter: some of the

thousands evacuated from the wildfire have made the trek to artist point. they watch the fire fighting efforts and search for their homes. clark stevens can see his house is still standing. >> i wish we could do something about it, but just at least being able to watch is kind of comforting. >> reporter: residents have relied on the mountain top view and daily press briefings to get information about the fire. alex and william just moved into their house two months ago. it's located within the fire zone. >> you know, it's like you just got the house and so much you've done to it. like, redo the floors, brand new lg. >> reporter: the fire has burned more than 6,000 acres and is still zero percent contained. crews from other parts of colorado and wyoming are now joining the nearly 300 firefighters who are already battling the flames. cooler temperatures and higher humidity are giving people hope that firefighters will be able to hold the line. >> the red line is the line of defense they've been working on for the whole of yesterday and

today. >> reporter: the evacuees hope they can return to their home soon and see close up what's left. kendis gibson, cbs news, boulder, colorado. now to the controversy over the planned islamic center in ground zero in manhattan. fresh off a date department sanctioned trip overseas, imam rauf says moving the center would incite muslim extremists. >> if we move from that location, the story will be that the radicals have taken over the discourse. the headlines in the muslim world will be that islam is under attack. >> opponents say the mosque should be moved farther away. al qaeda terrorists destroyed the world trade center killing nearly 2800 people. meantime, florida minister who says he'll burn copies of the koran saturday says he will go ahead with his plan despite pleas to back down. he's doing it to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. tara mergener is in washington

with the latest on that. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. jones says the only thing that can stop him now is an act of god, despite fears of possible retaliation against americans. two days before pastor terry jones plans to burn copies of the koran, the state department is ordered u.s. embassies around the world to brace for the possible fallout. >> we hope that the world will appreciate that this is the action of a very small-fringed group and does not represent the views of the united states or americans as a whole. >> reporter: protests around the globe have intensified over the past week, but despite pressure from the vatican, general david petraeus and secretary of state hillary clinton, jones refuses to back down. >> on september 11th we shall continue with our planned event. >> reporter: while it's been almost universally condemned, legal experts agree, jones' protest is protected by the

first amendment. >> as long as those are his korans on his property, the government can't stop him. >> reporter: but one florida imam tried to do that. >> i come in peace. >> reporter: on wednesday, he spent 30 minutes meeting privately with jones. >> we think that he can express his feelings in a different way, in a more sooifl civilized way. >> reporter: religious leaders led more than 200 in prayer. >> when you put our troops in harm's way, i think it's time to back off. >> reporter: but there's no sign that's about to happen. jones' church already has about 200 korans to burn this weekend. some sent by supporters. and there is also concern the growing controversy could overshadow some memorial events for the 9/11 victims. back to you. >> tara mergener in washington this morning, thank you. and president obama holds his second news conference of

the year tomorrow to top off a week of appearances rolling out new spending and tax cut proposals. in cleveland wednesday he hit hard at republican critics of his economic plan. joel brown has more on the battle shaping up for the midterm election. >> reporter: president obama took his fight with the republicans to cleveland, hoping to convince middle class voters to keep democrats in power this november. >> they would have us borrow $700 billion over the next ten years to give a tax cut of about $100,000 each to folks who are already millionaires. >> reporter: republicans say that's not the case. taxes would go up for many people who make much less. house minority leader john boehner announced their plan wednesday. they want to freeze all tax cuts for two years and cut government spending back to where it was during 2008. the president brushed that aside and called on congress to let tax cuts expire at the end of the year for the nation's

wealthiest people but he said they'd stay the same for taxpayers who earn less than $200,000. >> this isn't to punish folks who are better off. god bless them. it's because we can't afford the $700 billion price tag. >> reporter: gop leaders argue the country can't afford to raise anyone's taxes in the middle of a recession. wednesday's announcement during the white house's week-long focus on the economy. the president proposed new tax breaks for businesses to spur hiring and new funding for roads and railways. this battle of economic plans is unlikely to end soon. lawmakers have their eyes on november's high-stakes elections and time to pass any of these new proposals is quickly running out. joel brown, cbs news, the white house. just ahead on the morning news, some rare good news on the job front. plus, filling the suspenders. cnn finally announces who will replace larry king.

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only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. hot dog guy! >> hey, man, to you, it's mr. vice president hot dog guy. >> vice president joe biden served hot dogs last night on comedy central's "colbert report" celebrated the returnifiction. free beer and ice cream were added to the mix. general odierno made a toupee of colbert's hair. colbert arrived on a tank. the video game metal of iron has been banned. public protests from coalition partners, britain and canada, led the banning. the new video game allows a player to be a taliban fighter and shoot u.s. soldiers. the defense minister says it trivializes the loss of war.

on the "cbs moneywatch," stocks in asia bounce back today. ashley morrison is here in new york with more on that. good morning to you. >> good morning to you. asian markets were up as concerns about europe's debt crisis eased. japan's nikkei was up a fraction while hong kong's hang seng was up just a fraction. today wall street gets numbers on trade and the weekly market numbers. wednesday the market went higher. the dow gained 46 points while the nasdaq added 20. job openings jumped in july for the first time in five months. the labor department says the number of jobs advertised rose by more than 6% to just over 3 million. that is the highest since april. but the competition for those jobs is fierce. on average, five people are vying for each open spot. with people worried about their jobs, they're keeping the plastic at home. consumers' borrowing fell again in july. households cut back on their credit card use for the 23rd month in a row. that trend is a drag on the economy, which is powered by

consumer spending. google's trying to offer instant gratification. on wednesday the tech giant added a feature that displays search results as soon as you start typing a request, change as each new character is typed, and actually prediblgting which sites you may want to visit. google says the new technology will save two to five seconds per search. if your stella doesn't taste up to standards, you buetter pu that pint back down. 4,000 casks of the beer are recalled. some casks weren't cleaned, resulting in a bad smelling, foul-tasting lager. when you grab that cold beer on a hot day, you expect it to taste good, not smelly and foul. >> i heard it gets you drunk faster. i'm sure there's somebody out there drinking going, is this something new out there? >> probably lots of people. >> ashley morrison here in new york. thank you so much.

britney spears' ex has come to her defense. spears was accused of child abuse by her former bodyguard yesterday. among the allegations, britney exposed herself to him and abused her children. a lawyer for spears' ex-husband kevin federline called the charges baseless and suggested it was all about money. a judge fined "jersey shore" star snooki $500 for stumbling down a new jersey beach and disturbing people in july. the judge suggested it was a stunt for the camera. snooki apologized and blamed it on the alcohol. the british are coming to larry king's nightly throne at cnn. as rumored for weeks piers morgan has been named the replace many as the 25 veteran steps down. morgan, a former british newspaper editor, is better known as a judge on "america's got talent." he'll start on cnn in january. in sports, a familiar face takes center court at the u.s. open. takes centre court at the u.s. open. good morning!

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tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior or any swelling or affected breathing, or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. i found answers about fibromyalgia. then i found lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. here's a look at some weather in some cities around the country. sunny, 75 degrees in new york. beautiful. miami, thunderstorms, 88 degrees. chicago, sunny, 67. 84 in denver, sunny there. partly cloudy in los angeles, 72 degrees. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows clouds swirling over the midwest while skies are clear over the great lakes and northeast.

later today, cool and dryer air coming in over the west coast and the northeast still hot and humid in the southeast and severe storms are likely to flare up in the northern plains. roger federer is back to his old self. the five-time u.s. open champion finished with an ace last night. he krusd to a straight sets victory over robert sod der ling after losing earlier at the french open and wimbledon. federer is in semifinals meeting djokovic on saturday. on the women's side, top seeded caroline wozniacki beat cibulkova in the quarterfinals. she'll face zvonareva on friday. in san diego young arms quiche pitching in. miguel tejeda punched an rbi single to center. padres with a 4-0 win. they got a three-game sweep over l.a. in the american league marco

scutaro with a home run. 44-year-old knuckleballer tim wakefield picked up the win there. he's the oldest pitcher over to do it in beanetown. when we return this morning, another look at this morning's top stories. damage control. bp points fingers in its own assessment of what went wrong in the gulf. [ female announcer ] your hands are only as clean as the towel used to dry them. so why use the same hand towel over and over instead of a clean, fresh one every time?

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,,,, on the "cbs morning news," here's another look at today's weather. there continues to be flooding concer from tropical depression hermine and a severe weather threat returns to the plains today. the east and west coast looking good today but the southeast muggy and humid. here's another look at this morning's top stories. there's new fire danger in colorado as crews continue to battle a wildfire that's destroyed at least 135 homes

near boulder. and the florida preacher who plans to burn korans on saturday to make the ninth anniversary of 9/11 attacks says he will not back down. bp has issued a report about the oil disaster in the gulf of mexico. 11 workers died when the deepwater horizon rig exploded in april that led to the biggest oil spill in u.s. history. mark strassmann reports that bp is trying to spread the blame. >> reporter: in bp's version of events, halliburton's bad cement job allowed natural gas to seep into the well, which eventually blew out right through the center of its pipe. but other analysts suspect the well's outer casing, chosen by bp, despite knowing it was cheaper and riskier. bp's report also faults transocean, the rig's owner, for misreading a pressure test that showed the well was volatile. but bp concedes its own representative on board, also agreed to go ahead anyway. and once the well's crisis

began, bp blames transocean for routing leaking gas onto the rig rather than venting it safely overboard. lastly, for maintaining a faulty blowout preventer. it should have cut off the flow of oil and gas but failed. a cascade of mistakes that ended in disaster. >> if they had prevented any one of those thing in that series, we might not have had the blowout we had there. we might not have had the catastrophic failure. >> reporter: after bp released its findings, transocean blasted the oil giant for a self-serving report that attempts to conceal bp's fatally flawed well design. halliburton said bp's report contained substantial omissions and inaccuracies. the well owner, bp, is responsible. bp is essentially saying its well design was fine. the real problem is the way other companies executed. but as the well's owner, many experts say, bp is ultimately responsible. mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta.

this morning on "the early show," piers morgan talks about replacing larry king. i'm terrell brown. ng. i'm terrell brown. this is the "cbs morning news." no oil has flowed into the gulf for weeks, but it's just the beginning of our work. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. my job is to listen to the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel and restaurant workers and find ways to help. that means working with communities. we have 19 centers in 4 states. we've made over 120,000 claims payments, more than $375 million. we've committed $20 billion to an independent claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. we'll keep looking for oil, cleaning it up if we find it and restoring the gulf coast. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here.

bp is gonna be here until the oil is gone and the people and businesses are back to normal... until we make this right.

u.s. highway deaths are at their lowest level in 60 years. the transportation department says traffic deaths fell 9.7% in 2009 to more than 33,000. that's the lowest since 1950. deaths are down because vehicles have better safety features, more drivers are wearing seat belts and fewer are driving drunk. we've had tragic reminders this summer that america's wilderness is still very dangerous. two people were killed in separate grizzly bear attacks outside yellowstone national park about a month apart. john blackstone reports. >> reporter: of all the natural beauty in yellowstone national park, what many visitors come to see is the largest, most terrifying predator on the continent, the grizzly bear. >> they're like a mythical creature.

everyone sort of has an opinion about it. >> reporter: in 1975 grizzly bears were listed as a threatened species. since then their numbers have grown steadily. now some 600 grizzlies live in and around yellowstone. but not always peacefully. >> my daughter's boyfriend got bit by a bear. there's another lady down there that's screaming. i don't know if she got bit or not. >> reporter: in july campers called 911 after a bear rampaged through a campground just outside yellowstone national park. camper deb freele was attacked as she slept. >> the bear grabbed me here and then behind. and laid open my arm from here to there. and then bit again here and here. broke the bone here. >> reporter: another camper was killed by the bear. his death came just over a month after a botanist was mauled to death of the foreof the region's grizzlies.

the two deaths were outside the boundaries of the yellowstone national park. but grizzlies pay no attention to boundaries. each bear can roam across hundreds of square miles in search of food. and this year there's a shortage of one of the bear's favorite food, cones from the white bark pine. as bears search for other things to eat as they put on weight for winter, there's worry they'll start running into people. >> a mother bear will teach her cubs, come get garbage in the fall when we need to fatten up for hibernation. >> reporter: in gardener, montana, on the edge of the park, she wears a bear awareness group urging everyone to use bear-proof garbage cans as the first line of defense. >> when they start seeing these things around town, they give it a pass. >> reporter: at one time in yellowstone, garbage was actually put out for the bears. and tourists would often feed bears by hand. trouble was, the bears started associating humans with food. and attacks in the park were frequent. >> from the 1930s through the 1960s we averaged 48 bear maulings every year.

>> reporter: today bear attacks are rare, but the deaths this year are a reminder that bear country is dangerous. grizzlies are predators that can and will eat almost anything. john blackstone, cbs news, yellowstone national park. and that is the "cbs morning news" for this thursday. thanks for watching this morning. we hope to see you later on for "the early show." i'm terrell brown. take care, everybody. we'll see you then. ke care, everybody. ,,,,,,

your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. caption colorado, l.l.c. if true, it could cripple muni transportation in san francisco. how long a si